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I'm running a survey at http://reanimus.com/trilogysurvey/ with a question about trilogies. Have a gander at the survey, and if you want to discuss the question here, by all means. (But take the survey first, so I can gather the numbers.)

Survey Comment: In print, three books all put into one volume can be a little bulky to carry around and handle, and that isn't worth the potential savings in money. In digital formats, I really don't care either way. I marked it as one combined volume, but that's because I would imagine that one combined volume is usually cheaper. However, in digital formats, buying them in one combined volume usually means the trilogy has a different name than the combined books, and it's easy to get confused about whether I have the book already or not. So for organizational purposes, sometimes I do buy them separately.

Survey Comment: This really depends on when I've gotten into the trilogy. Have I not started reading any until all three are published? If I haven't, I'd consider buying either way (in both formats) and would ultimately go with whatever was cheaper (sometimes the trilogy packaging is a deal, sometimes it includes a Lord of Crap Crown and is a ripoff). Generally, I find it's cheaper to buy the books separately, which is the reason for my selections above.

Conversely, if I were reading the books as they came out, and owned the first one before the multi-book volume came out, I wouldn't ever consider buying them as one volume; I'd just buy book 2 and then book 3. The only exception would be if the covers were phenomenally more attractive in the combined volume.

Essentially, I'm all about the value. In fact I use the library when I can (unless a book has me so excited I must read it NOW, like it's the next Harry Potter, or again, the cover is so phenomenally beautiful that I must have it on my shelf).

Survey Comment: If I could have I would have chosen mostly separate volumes. If the volumes are all very short then combining them is okay The reasons.

1-The sense of completion. Finishing a book in a series is like finishing a chapter and it feels better aesthetically to have a solid break (though that can depend on the author's skill at managing the break.

2- Cost and time commitment. It the first book is terrible, I wont waste my money on the other 2/3.

3- If the story is good I'm willing to get it a piece at a time, rather than waiting 5 year for two more volumes.

Survey Comment: In print, weight and size of the type are the main factors in my decision to buy them separate. For e-books, price is an issue. If the combined version is 3x the price, I would prefer to buy the first book to see if I like it before investing in the other ones.

Regardless of format, my buying strategy is to buy the first book then, if I like the story, the other 2 together. Now if the price of the combined e-book is the same as two separate books, I would be tempted to buy #1 then the combined trilogy in e-book so I could have it all together.

Survey Comment: Print volumes tend to be large and thus fall apart at the binding after a few reads. It's easier to buy them separately and group them together with rubber bands on the bookshelf. Since you don't have that problem in ebooks though, it's more efficient to have them all in one -- saves the need for extra clicking!

Survey Comment: I especially like them for print books, because...well have you seen the size of the all-in-one version of LoTR? It's a door-stopper. It's also very intimidating when starting to read a book that size. Three smaller books are easier to tackle, mentally, I think. Not to mention how much they make your arm ache, holding them for reading.

E-books don't have the same discomfort level, or visual intimidation as print books, but I still think that seeing an end coming up (the bar on the Kindle for instance) helps to keep it not so daunting.